1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to interval timers, more particularly, to a timer that measures a user-defined duration of time and records the measurement of that time over a period of weeks or months.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The Curtis patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,061 refers to a practice timer for measuring time spent productively in an activity with a minimum of interference with the activity. The described device includes a sound-sensing device which records the actual amount of time an instrument is being played. As described in the patent, the musician may then compare the productive time with the elapsed chronological time to determine profitable practice time. The device describes possible integration with a metronome incorporating special circuits to prevent metronome sound from interfering with the sound-sensing circuitry.
The present invention, which may herein also be referred to as the PractizPal, differs greatly from the Curtis patent in both purpose and function. First of all the PractizPal is highly integrated with a built in means of measuring date. This feature which is not included in the Curtis patent allows the PractizPal to not only measure the length of a practice session, but also to record and tabulate practice times over a period of weeks or months. This feature allows teachers and students to review the accumulated amount of practice time over an extended period of time providing for more efficient record-keeping and greater accountability. This function is not possible without the integration of a means of measuring date.
The primary difference in the PractizPal and the Curtis patent is that the amount of time practiced recorded by the PractizPal is entirely user defined. The measurement of practice time as described in the Curtis patent is the result of the device's measurement of productive practice, the comparison of this productive time with actual elapsed time being in fact the primary function of the device. The function of the PractizPal relies entirely on user input to define practice time, the user pressing a button to indicate the beginning and end of practice time. The purpose of the PractizPal is not to distinguish profitable practice time from unprofitable practice time, nor is it capable of doing so. A sound-sensor built into the PractizPal simply acts as an auto-shutoff feature that prevents the user from unintentionally recording extended amounts of practice time. The auto-shutoff feature can be easily overridden or turned off by the user.
Patents such as the Clemenden patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,877,953 deal with elapsed time recording allowing a user to track, record and retrieve time information for billing purposes, allowing the user to start a “timer” to track an account's activity, the device keeping track of total accumulated time. It also allows the user to review a record of date and time for the beginning and end of each time segment as well as a the total elapsed time for billing purposes.
The function of the PractizPal timer differs in several aspects. First of all, as it is intended for the specific purpose of recording time elapsed in music practice rather than tabulated time for billing purposes, it features an entirely different system of recording time. The Clemenden patent records the total elapsed time on a specific project which could cover various amounts of time. For example, a total accumulated time of 15 hours on a given project could have elapsed over the course of several months, or within a 24 hour period.
Such information is not relevant in regards to time elapsed in music practice since practice time is evaluated in segments of a week or the time elapsed between music lessons. More specifically, a time record of music practice requires tabulation of the total amount of accumulated practice time in individual 24 hour periods in order to evaluate practice patterns.
The importance of this specific organization in regards to music practice is evidenced by the example of paper practice records which consistently organize practice times by week, and more specifically by the day of each week. Although this organization is necessary to meet the specific requirements of a music practice record, it is irrelevant to the function of the Clemenden patent which due to its intended use for billing purposes, requires only the indication of the total elapsed time regardless of when it took place.
As the metronome is a device used specifically for the purpose of music practice, the addition of this function to the device further specifies it for use in relation to music practice.
The Ishikawa patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,686 refers to the combination of a metronome that is related to a subtraction timer, causing the metronome to shut off after a user defined period of time, and delivering a time-up sound. As in the case of the Curtis patent, the PractizPal differs from the Ishikawa patent in that the PractizPal is highly integrated with a built in means of measuring time and date which is necessary for the described function of the device. One of the primary purposes of the PractizPal is to make students more accountable to their teachers who by observing a students practice record, can point out the relationship between lack of practice and lack of musical progress. As students are often themselves unaware of their own consistent failure to practice, the PractizPal also allows them to see the regularity of their practice patterns. A high level of integration with a means of measuring time and date is necessary for this purpose.
Because the Ishikawa patent lacks any means of measuring date, or memory regarding the time of day or date upon which a practice session began or ended, the device it describes is not able to retain any past record of time practiced or accumulated practice time over the course of a day or a week, and is therefore unable to accomplish this function.
Not only is the integration of a means of measuring date and time of day necessary for the maintaining of a practice record that can be viewed by a student or teacher, it is also necessary for the tabulation of segmented practice time that takes place over the course of a 24 hour period. One of the primary functions of the PractizPal is its ability to accumulate practice time over a 24 hour period regardless of the number of practice segments, thereby allowing a musician to start or stop their practice time as necessary while still tabulating the total elapsed time in a day's practice. For example, the integration of a built in means of measuring date would allow the PractizPal to record 5 (or more) distinct periods of music practice within a 36 hour period, then selectively tabulate those practice segments according to the time of day and date on which they took place. The means of measuring date is also necessary for features that allow a teacher to set a practice quota such as 30 minutes for a sequence of 24 hour periods, and the ability to relate an accumulation of practice segments to that quota. The PractizPal also allows the user to continue practice beyond their assigned quota of practice time, indicating to the user the amount of extra time they have practiced within a certain 24 hour period of time, once again a function that is not possible without integration with a means of measuring time and date.
Patents such as the Edwards patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,018, the Truett patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,228 and the Bond patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,327,403 refer to the use of LED lights for time measuring purposes. LED lights used in the PractizPal are an aesthetic enhancement and not in any way integral to the function of the device. Their purpose is to complement the LCD timer display on the PractizPal screen, their presence indicating that the PractizPal is tabulating practice time. The lights are not actually used to specify the occurrence of certain events or actual time of day.
The Morohoshi patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,355 refers to the use of different light color LED chips to distinguish upbeats and downbeats within a metronome. Changes in the color of the LED lights used in the PractizPal are for an aesthetic correlation with the timer and not related to the metronome function of downbeats or upbeats.
Potentially relevant metronome design patents include the Omuro patents Des. No. 430,045, and Des. No. 360,144, and the Saito patent Des. No. 323,469.
Other potentially relevant design patents include the Watanabe patent Des. No. 331,018 for a clock timer and the Krause patent Des. No. 234,748 for an interval signaling timer.
Any aspiring musician who has undertaken the study of a musical instrument has soon discovered its greatest difficulty-practice. Though essential for musical mastery, this hurdle is one that is especially difficult for younger students with other competing interests and short attention spans.
One of the primary ways this problem has been addressed in the past is through printed practice records. Unfortunately these books require a student to time his own practice sessions throughout the course of a day, add up all of his practice time, and record it in his practice book. Many practice books contain around two months of practice records requiring as many as six books per year. Most printed practice books serve no other purpose than record keeping and contribute nothing to actual practice sessions. They represent just one more drudgery in practice's long grueling routine.